Infinite wealth In A New World

Nioh exhaled, pressing the speaker button. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice laced with coldness.

The screen before them flickered to life, revealing Jade's image. 'I thought the ship controls were all shut down, then how did she?' Nioh was stunned.

"What do I want?" Jade countered, an eyebrow raised. "You know exactly what I want."

"Sorry, you can't have that anymore," Nioh replied.

He settled back into his seat, his gaze fixed on the screen. "And why is that?" Jade's brow furrowed.

"Your 'Artifact' is with my King. No matter what you say or do, you can't have it," Nioh smirked.

"You know we are stronger, right?" Jade's voice held a hint of threat.

"Strong? What if you are strong?" Nioh challenged, adding, "You have two choices: first, let us go and take off that stupid device from our warship. Or attack us; trust me, you won't end well."

Jade's gaze shifted to Nicolas and Blood Eye, and she exhaled. "You guys aren't strong... You already know I shut down your warship with my chip, so why are you still arrogant?" Her voice betrayed mild confusion.

"Arrogant? Why shouldn't we? The Three-Eye Nation isn't our opponent; you guys are just too weak." He rose to his feet, his tone hardening. "We don't have time, so you have one minute to decide, or we will act."

"Act??" Jade's confusion deepened with his arrogance, but she eventually exhaled. "How strong is this your king?" she asked.

"Why don't you come and find out yourself?" Blood Eye retorted.

"You!!" Jade stopped herself, took a breath, and nodded. "I hope you three know I have a celestial missile that can destroy your planet in one attack, right?" The three men frowned. "Tell your king this," Jade's voice turned colder. "He has one week to return the artifact, or we will burn down Planet Zax and wipe it out from the galaxy! In one week, we will attack!"

"Is this a war declaration?!" Nicolas asked, staring at her.

"You can put it that way... One week! If you don't return what is ours, we will show you why we can't be bullied! We will burn down the planet into earth pieces and pick the artifact from the ashes!"

The screen went black. A small, circular object detached itself from their warship, precisely where the bullet had struck, and flew towards the colossal warship before them. Nioh, Blood Eye, and Nicolas watched as the warship turned, shot into space, and vanished from sight. The two turned to Nioh, confusion etched on their faces.

"Let's go." Nioh settled back into his seat. The two nodded, took their places, and started the warship, continuing their journey in silence.

_______

[Star Empire.]

Matilda sat on the hospital bed, scrutinizing the fresh scar on her face in a mirror.

"Don't worry, Empress, you are an elf, so you will heal in no time," the female doctor said with a reassuring smile.

"You don't get it!" Matilda erupted, flinging the mirror in a fit of rage. It struck the wall, shattering into countless fragments that rained down onto the floor. "He used his sword! I can't heal unless I activate my bloodline, which is—" She paused, sighing softly. "Forget it." She waved her hand dismissively. "Leave me."

The doctor, visibly scared, nodded and quickly scurried out of the hospital room.

'I shouldn't show my weakness to these fools,' she thought, her gaze sweeping around the room. 'Who would have thought Joshua would have stirred up his sword? If I had known, I wouldn't have used it! Now... I can only wait to activate my bloodline so I can remove this scar from my beautiful face.'

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

'Knocking! When you have been standing there all this while!' She fumed inwardly but managed a low, "Come in."

The door opened, and an old man entered. He wore a white mage robe, clearly a senator from the court. "My Queen, you are needed at the court... I know you are just getting up and are angry, but the soldiers and people need to know what happened... More than two hundred people lost their lives, and the people are scared. We need to calm them down," he said in a calm tone.

Matilda lowered her gaze, lost in thought. After five seconds, she looked up at him. "Okay... I understand."

"Thank you, my Queen... And for your scar." He gestured to a maid who entered, holding a red face veil on a decorated red tray.

"No... I don't want it," Matilda said, shaking her head.

"But My Queen?—"

"—No, Senator... I won't hide it. You are right, they need to know, so why would I hide it?" she asked, looking up at him.

The old man stared at her for a few seconds, then finally nodded. "If that's what the Empress wishes." He waved his hand, and the maid turned and walked away.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"In the courtroom. The people are all gathered in the city square, so whatever you say or do will be shown to them," he explained.

"Okay." Matilda stood up and shakily walked past the old man, exiting the hospital.

'The Queen hasn't healed, but she still wants to answer the people... She is the most fitted for the throne, unlike that stupid king... Good he isn't here.' He thought, unaware that everything was merely an act.

______

[City Square.]

"You heard the news, right?!" someone whispered.

"Yes!! A missile hit the city and killed 200 people, mostly from the elves and other nations... No human was in there," the second replied, looking around.

"Do you think the Star Nation is going against the other nations?" a man with blue skin asked.

"Shush! The Star Nation belongs to the humans, no matter what you say or do, you can't change anything," an elf interjected.

"What are you saying?! That we cower in fear?!" The man turned to the elf.

"I am saying; this is the humans' nation, and they let us, elves, live here... If they decide to kick us all out, we can't do anything about it but leave," the elf pointed out.

"That will never happen. The imperial family placed the rule 200 years ago... No one can change it that easily, and why are you complaining?! The Queen is an elf, so you are all safe!" the man said, looking away.

'Why the hostility?' The elf thought in confusion.

A few feet away, a silent figure in a black cloak stood, their face concealed. The figure raised its head to the huge screen before them, waiting for the Empress to give her reasons for the attack. 'So much trouble, I should finish my job and get out of here.'

WHOOSH!

"It's on!!" someone yelled, pointing at the screen.

Everyone and the cloaked lady looked up, watching as the Queen walked to her throne and sat down.

"Oh my god!"

"What a deep scar!"

"Who dared hurt our beautiful Empress?!!"

Gasps of shock and surprise rippled through the crowd as Matilda sat down, and the old man began, "My Queen, I will ask, while you will answer." Matilda nodded. "What exactly happened? The missile hit Lord Vancouver's estate, killing everyone in it, and even taking the lives of 200 citizens. We need to know the truth and who fired it." The people nodded, also eager for answers.

"My Senators, people... Last night, my uncle-in-law said he had an important matter to discuss with me, about my husband... I... I didn't know he planned to." She paused, exhaling. "As my uncle-in-law, I had to obey him, so I went to his place, but when I got there, there wasn't a soul in sight." She fixed her gaze on the screen, staring at the people. "Right then and there, I felt it... If it wasn't because of my strength, I wouldn't have sensed the missile heading towards him... With my full strength, I enclosed myself with a barrier... I am so sorry," she said as her eyes welled with tears. "I am not strong enough to protect the whole place, and when the missile hit... We lost so much." She swallowed.

"Thinking I was dead, that wicked uncle of mine, Vancouver, came back. I don't know why, maybe to make sure I am dead... But the most shocking thing was, Joshua was with him! I heard him saying he wants the throne, now that my husband has done something bad, I'm not qualified to rule! He was the first person who supported me. I should have known he was just like his friend! Alas! They grew up together." She blinked, stopping her tears from showing.

"When they discovered I was still alive, Joshua took the initiative to attack, while Vancouver retreated... I don't know why... I tried my best, and defended myself, but still got injured with his sword... I used up most of my powers to protect myself against the missile, so he easily defeated me. When he thought he won, I took him by surprise and pulled out his heart... Out of exhaustion and low celestial energy, I also fainted." she said.

"Okay... But what about the heart?" another senator asked, his question echoing throughout the square.

"The heart?" Matilda turned to him in surprise.